


Feels Like Loneliness - A GMW AU

by twiddlingthumbs



Category: Girl Meets World
Genre: Alternate Universe
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-06
Updated: 2017-04-17
Packaged: 2018-08-29 10:46:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,009
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8486407
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/twiddlingthumbs/pseuds/twiddlingthumbs
Summary: Maya becomes an internet sensation and recording artist, causing her music career to take off. She’s taking Hollywood by storm, but how has Riley been taking this back home?





	1. Smoke and Fire

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fic in a very long time and it’s also my first GMW fic so I’m sorry if my writing’s pretty bleh. I’m kinda merging a bunch of Disney shows here, so you’ll be seeing a lot of references to other shows, mostly 'Austin & Ally'. I also haven’t decided if this is a love story or not.
> 
> Oh, and basically Sabrina’s songs = Maya’s songs.
> 
> Please correct me if I'm wrong in considering this an AU. Constructive criticism is also highly appreciated!

**_Riley’s P.O.V._ **

“Peaches!” I said as I answered the FaceTime coming from Maya Hart, my best friend. She’s been travelling across the country on tour, performing all over the United States to celebrate the release of her album. It all seems surreal how she’s totally famous now. She’s taking the music industry by storm with all her talent and I could never be more proud of her.

“Hey, Riles,” she said. Right now, she’s in a hotel room somewhere in Baltimore, which is where tonight’s show is gonna be.

How did this all start? Well, it started with a birthday gift. For my 15th birthday, she put together a video of her singing this song she wrote called _Seamless._ It was one of the best things anyone could ever do, you know. To go through the effort of writing the most beautiful song for your best friend is something I’ll appreciate forever. She posted the video on Youtube for me to see, but it ended up being seen by a lot of other people. Soon enough, her video had hundreds of thousands of views and she was invited to appear on The Helen Show. Now, she’s signed with Starr Records and she’s killing it as a recording artist.

I mean, the only possible downside to this is that I haven’t really seen her much since she was signed. She had to move to Miami for awhile to work on her debut album a few months ago. Then, she came back for like a month when she finished recording it, but she had to leave again to promote it, release it, then from there she started touring. It’s been three months since her tour started, and for every single day she was gone, I only thought about her.

“I miss you, Maya,” I told her through the screen of my phone, “You’ll be back soon, right?”

“Yeah,” she said, “My next show is in Philly, then my last stop is New York. And after that, I’m not going anywhere.”

“YAY! Maya’s coming back! The others will be so excited to see you! And the bay window is just waiting for you to climb through it and sit on it and tell me all about the tour and—”

We were interrupted by the sound of a phone ringing. It was coming from Maya’s side of the screen, so I assumed it was her ‘work phone’.

“Oh God, it’s Jimmy.” She looks at the other phone, then back at me. “Riles? I’ll call you back, okay? I gotta take this.”

My smile fades as she says that. “Oh, sure. It’s fine. Talk to you later.”

“Thanks, Riley. Talk to you later. Miss you.”

“Thunder?”

“Lightning.”

She hangs up before I can press the button, and you can guess she never ended up calling back that night.

It’s always like this. About 99.9% of our chats are always like this. Cut short, interrupted, it’s all the same. I start getting happy and excited, then suddenly Jimmy’s calling or her manager is calling or Austin Moon is calling. Then she says she’ll call back, even though we both know she won’t. It’s tiring, to be honest, but I wouldn’t let something like that get in the way of our friendship. I just wish is wasn’t so hard having a celebrity for a best friend.


	2. Darling I'm A Mess

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Three months without Maya, and Riley is a complete mess. We don’t learn about Belgium 1831 (again), and nothing feels right.

**_Riley’s P.O.V._ **

_Abigail Adams High School - History Class_

“Belgium 1831,” my dad says pointing at the chalkboard with those exact words written on it, “It’s about time I taught you about what happened in Belgium in 1831!”

Come on, we all know what’s gonna happen.

“3… 2… 1…” Farkle muttered to himself.

He knew what was coming. We all knew what was coming.

“DADDY I MISS MAYA!” See, everyone saw this coming.

Farkle stands up from his seat, clearly frustrated. “Of course. OF COURSE. I WILL NEVER LEARN ABOUT BELGIUM 1831!”

“Farkle,” Lucas says, “Don’t you think it would be more fun to learn this when Maya gets back?”

“Yeah,” Zay agrees, “It just wouldn’t be right learning about Belgium 1831 without Maya.”

Farkle sighs, “You’re right. It wouldn’t be the same.” He goes to the blackboard, picks up the eraser, and erases ‘Belgium 1831’.

It’s moments like these that make me miss Maya even more. These little things our circle of friends do, our antics in class, and my dad trying to teach us about the world. Whenever we do these things, we always do them with Maya. And during the three months she’s been gone, it just didn’t feel right doing these things without her.

“Guys,” I said, “Maya’s doing great on tour! And don’t worry, just one more week and she’ll be back to wreaking havoc in our lives.”

“She won’t be busy working?” Smackle asks.

“Well, she told me New York is her last stop and she won’t be going anywhere after.”

“Riley,” my dad said, “Are you sure you can take another week? You kind of just interrupted the lesson because of how much you miss her.”

“I’ll be fine, dad!” I smiled, “One week will fly past quickly. Maya will be back in no time at all!”

_Matthews Residence - Riley’s Bedroom_

“Has it been a week yet?” I asked my mom who was sitting with me at the bay window. My head was rested in her lap and she’s been stroking my hair for the past hour.

“No, honey,” she said.

“Aw, honey. She used to call me honey a lot. It was sweet. Sweet like honey. She used to call me that a lot, you know.”

“Okay I can’t do this.” She threw her hands in the air and I sat upright.

“Riley,” she said, “Maya’s gonna be back before you know it. But for now, you’ll have to deal with her being away for another week.”

“But mom,” I said, “She’s been gone for _three months_. Four if you include the day she left. And the more days that go by, the more I miss her.”

“Riley, she’ll be back. In the meantime, I suggest you clean this pigstine!”

I looked around my room as she left and realized it was a mess. My bed wasn’t made and there were books, pillows and clothes scattered all over the floor. I never even noticed how cluttered it was up until now, and I began to wonder how long it’s been like this. Has it been this way since three months ago? Has my life been this way since Maya left?

I stood up and started picking up what was on the floor and placed them where they belonged. Books on the desk, clothes in the closet, and pillows on my bed and the bay window. I sat back down at the bay window and looked around. Everything was in place and the room was neat and tidy. The only thing wrong with it now was that Maya wasn’t climbing through the window and sitting beside me. But suddenly, the window opened.

“Maya?” I said instinctively.

“Nope. Just Lucas.” He climbed through the window and sat next to me. “Oh, you cleaned your room.”

“Wait, you noticed?”

“Uh, yeah? We all did.”

“Huh..” I looked around. “So it really was a mess since she left?”

“Well, not exactly when she left,” he said, “Probably since the day after.”

I laughed, but my smile faded quickly. “Lucas, I miss her.”

“377,” is all he said.

“What?”

“That’s the 377th time you’ve said that.”

“Oh.”

We stared at each other for a moment. His smile faded, too, and neither of us really knew what to feel. Right now, not even Lucas could make me feel better, and he usually does. But now, I’ve been away from Maya for too long, and the only thing that would really cheer me up is… well, Maya.


	3. Run and Hide

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Life on the road is great and all, but it’s nothing without your best friend. Maya’s about to do something only Maya Penelope Hart would do, and Riley isn’t there to stop her.

**_Maya’s P.O.V._ **

“Wait, Liv Rooney was at the Malibu show?!” Riley said through the phone screen after I told her a story from tour. I was in my hotel room in Philadelphia and I decided to call her since the show doesn’t start for another six hours.

“Yeah,” I said, “No, wait… I think it was her twin. She was wearing glasses. Oh wait no, they were both there!”

She laughed. “That’s really cool, Maya.”

We kept talking for a few minutes. She told me stories about what happened at school and how Mr. Matthews tried teaching about Belgium 1831 again and how much everyone missed me. It made me really happy to hear the stories she was telling me, and I’m so glad we were able to talk long enough for her to be able to tell me, but every word she said just made me miss her and everyone else even more.

It’s been almost four months since I left New York to stay in Miami, work on my album, and go on tour. And even after all this time, the whole experience has been surreal. I never really thought I’d get anywhere in my life, but the fact that I’m barely 16 and travelling across the country singing my own self-written music really helps me believe in myself more. I’ve loved performing in every state and city and I loved meeting new people along the way, but I really wish I could just breeze through the next few days so I can be with Riley again.

“I really miss you, Riles,” I said, “And I’m glad we could talk longer this time. I would really hate it if something just suddenly came up ag—” And there goes the other phone.

“It’s Jimmy again, isn’t it?” she asked, knowing all too well what was next.

“Yeah,” I said, “I’m really sorry, Riley. Call you ba—”

“No, you can answer it while I’m here. It’s okay.”

“Riles, are you really okay with that?”

“Go ahead. Even put him on speaker if you must!”

“Well, okay…” I decided to just go with it and answered, putting him on speaker for the both of us to hear.

“Maya Hart! My favorite new artist,” Jimmy said when I answered.

“Is this urgent?” I asked, “I’m kind of talking with Riley right now.”

“Riley who?” he said.

“Riley Matthews, best friend, _Seamless_?” Riley said from the other phone.

“Ah, that Riley! The Riley that inspired your rise to fame!”

“The Riley that inspires my whole life, yeah.” I sighed. “Anyways, why’d you call, Jimmy?”

I don’t hate Jimmy, I swear. He’s the guy who gave me this insane new reality. All of my accomplishments this year like the album and the tour was all because of him. He believed in me, and that’s something I’ll always appreciate about him. I just wish he wasn’t such a pain in the ass sometimes.

Anyways, he went on telling me something about Austin Moon wanting to do a collab for his upcoming album, and that we’d release it as a single and shoot a music video and a bunch of other stuff. Riley kept getting excited and saying how it’s such a great opportunity (and it is), but I really just wanted to go back home and relax a little.

After awhile, Jimmy hung up and it was just me and Riley again. And as we continued talking, I thought about how hectic everything has become. If I’m not writing music, I’m recording music. If I’m not recording music, I’m in a meeting with Jimmy. If I’m not in a meeting, I’m doing a show. If I’m not doing a show, I’m doing press. Don’t get me wrong, I love everything that’s happening to me. I love touring the country and performing and writing, but it just feels like nothing if I’m not doing it with Riley. Me and Riley have always been partners in crime, ever since I climbed through her window.

Climbed through her window, huh?

By the time me and Riley hung up, I had to head to the venue to do soundcheck and get ready for the show. After the show, I did a meet a greet, then the rest of the evening was free. I was supposed to have a meeting with Jimmy through video chat the next day, but I had other plans… I was gonna run and hide.


	4. Right Now

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We all know who Maya Penelope Hart is, and we all know what she is capable of doing. Riley wasn't around to stop her, this time. How does she feel about that?

**_Riley’s P.O.V._ **

Another morning at the bay window without Maya. I’m just doing the usual ‘singing to myself and waiting for something to happen’ thing, even though I know nothing is going to happen because Maya isn’t here to climb through my window to make things happen.

“ _Doo doo doo… Diddly diddly, doo…_ ” I sang to myself, the same way I did the day Maya climbed through my window for the first time. Y’know, that day years ago when I was just sitting here playing with Barry the Bear-Bear and singing that same tune, then Maya came in through my window and said—

“‘Sup?”

My head immediately turned in response, and... oh my gosh. There she was. Halfway in through my window, carrying a duffle bag, wearing those cool and edgy clothes she likes to wear, and that awesome blonde hair tied into a ponytail. Right there, a pair of blue eyes staring right at me with one of the happiest smiles I’ve ever seen on her face.

“Are you a stranger?” I asked, reenacting the day we met. She laughed and played along.

“Yeah.”

“Are you a stranger coming through my window?”

“Yeah.”

“Then, MAYA—” She jumped in and covered my mouth, but I just hugged her really tight.

“I missed you, Riles,” she said taking her hand off my mouth, “But your parents can’t know I’m here.”

“Wait, what are you doing here?” I asked, “You shouldn’t be back until tomorrow.”

“Let’s just say I did something Maya Penelope Hart would do.”

“Does your mother even know you’re here?”

“I came to see you first.”

“How did you get here?”

“Hopped on a train.” We continued throwing questions and answers at each other about this stunt she just pulled because, as much as I missed Maya, she shouldn’t be doing these crazy things. It could put her career in jeopardy. I wouldn’t want to be the cause of her job being at stake. She has a good thing going, and I want it to keep going for her sake. But at some point in our Q&A session, she suddenly started climbing out the window.

“Wait, where are you going?” I asked.

She looked at me like I said something stupid. “Uh, school? It’s a Wednesday, Riley.”

“Maya, you just said my parents can’t know you’re here.”

“Hey, I just wanna surprise your dad.” She grabbed my hand and we climbed out the window and into the world, leaving her duffle bag in my room.

_Abigail Adams High School - History Class_

“A pleasant morning to the people of this classroom!” Maya said as she strode into my father’s classroom. Let me tell you, the look on his face was priceless.

The moment we walked in, everyone’s attention was drawn to her. My dad was completely and utterly shocked to see her, just like I was this morning, and everyone was asking questions. ‘What was being on tour like?’ ‘What’s it like to be famous?’ ‘Do you have Austin Moon’s number?’ It was amusing to watch, but I still knew she wasn’t supposed to be here and that all of this was wrong.

We spent the day doing the things we normally do, aside from the occasional fan coming up to her and asking her for a selfie. I loved every second of it, but I didn’t want to be hanging out with Maya by these means. I wanted her to come back, yes, but I didn’t want her to run away from her responsibilities like that. It’s as risky as Maya Hart can get. I didn’t want to burst her bubble, though. I already knew how she would react and at the same time I just wanted her to be happy.

While we were on the subway after school, she was going on and on telling me a bunch of stories about the tour. As much as I loved hearing her tales, it just fueled my anxiety even more. I imagined Jimmy suddenly coming through the bay window with a bunch of guards and representatives, ready to take Maya away again because she was being a bad girl. I suppose this it what happens when we’re separated for three months; she’ll do these crazy things, and I won’t be there to stop her.

We entered my apartment through the front door, which got me frightened because I was expecting someone like her manager to be standing in the middle of the living room, but when we got in, the only people I saw were my family and Maya’s, sitting around the table with all of Maya’s favorite foods. They all stood up and yelled, “Surprise!”

Maya’s mom was the first to approach us. She wrapped Maya in a tight hug and nearly started crying because of how much she missed her baby girl. Uncle Shawn soon followed suit, enveloping Maya in a hug of his own. And for another brief moment, everything just seemed calm and happy, but I suddenly started to feel the pressure of her stunt again. And, looking at everyone celebrate her return, I started to get a little frustrated that nobody else seemed worried that her career could be at stake. What, are they all just ready to see her fail? Do they even care?

I was interrupted from my thoughts when Maya called out to me, telling me to grab a plate and eat some food. And when I looked at her and how happy she was, I couldn’t help but smile, and I realized that I shouldn’t be focusing on the consequences of her—somewhat stupid—actions. I should just be happy that she’s right here, right now.

But that doesn’t mean I’m over her little scheme.


End file.
